Thursday, October 14, 2004

Both the upcoming legislative elections in Taiwan and presidential election in the US should provide entertainment and grief in spades over the next several weeks.

In the US, Sinclair Broadcasting Group is ordering its affiliate stations across the US to air a feature-length documentary on the treasonous actions of presidential candidate John Kerry. This piece of agitprop will run in the same slot that is usually reserved for evening news sans advertising, and Sinclair has already said that it has no intention of running a separate piece that would show Kerry in a more favorable light in the interest of balance. Already there is a full effort underway, through boycotts and stock divestiture, to try to get Sinclair to reconsider its decision. According to a number of sites I've looked at, Sinclair controls roughly one quarter of the affiliated broadcast TV market in the US. Of course, there are bloggers far more knowledgeable than I on this issue, so if you are interested, you can learn more here, here, here and here. Don't get lost!

Here in Taiwan it appears that the accusation of "flip-flopper" stings not with an equal drop of poison. A DPP legislator accused a PFP legislator of changing his mind on a substantive issue, and the PFP legislator, feeling the welt sufficient, assaulted his colleague on the floor of the Legislative Yuan.

From the Taipei Times:

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lee Wen-chung yesterday carried some posters to the Procedure Committee to highlight that the arms deal had been agreed to during the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) adminstration.

Lee also highlighted PFP Legislator Nelson Ku's conflicting roles as former chief of the navy -- when he supported the deal -- and incumbent opposition lawmaker -- who now opposes the deal.